H & G reaches Kirks milestone

Selwyn Cushing

Sir Selwyn Cushing and partners in H & G Ltd have built up a stake of more than 5 per cent in the prestige Wellington department store Kirkcaldie & Stains.

The venerable "Kirks" has a market capitalisation of just $24 million and leases its landmark store in Lambton Quay.

But it also owns the Harbour City Centre, nearby prime real estate that provides around $4 million in rental income annually.

H & G and its directors, Selwyn Cushing, David Cushing and Brian Martin, last week passed the 5 per cent barrier requiring a statutory declaration to the NZX.

The milestone was passed after spikes in sharemarket activity over the previous two weeks and appears to have been reached soon after October 10, when the share price climbed from $2.28 to $2.35. The stock closed on Friday at $2.40, up 4c on the day.

David Cushing said the investment was a minor part of the H & G portfolio and he confirmed it had been acquiring shares since August 2004.

H & G now held more than half a million shares, an investment worth more than $1.2 million.

"So they finally got there," said Michael Curtis of LQ Investments, the largest single shareholder in Kirkcaldie and Stains and which itself picked up 5 per cent from Dublin Nominees in March to reach 19.9 per cent.

The purchase came soon after disappointing interim results, with net profit after tax of $290,000 compared to $920,000 for the same period in 2005.

Total retail revenue for the six months was $19.92 million, down 5.7 per cent.

Kirkcaldie & Stains is to deliver its annual results at the end of this month and managing director John Milford has signalled that profits to August 31 will be affected by the need to reduce surplus stock in the second half of the trading year.

Milford was appointed chief after LQ Investments increased its stake.